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[William Russell <woodmanrussell AT gmail.com>]

You sound like you have a good program going. All I use is free choice, not
block salt,with Selenium, short in Michigan soils, as you will have some
cows that keep others away. I also use salt for a neat way to seed
pastures. Using intensive rotational grazing, if done correctly, will allow
you to run about 30% more head on the same acreage.

On Sun, Jan 6, 2013 at 4:55 PM, <franksfarm AT aol.com> wrote:

> Good day all:
>
>
> William, thanks for the info.
>
>
>
> Seems that there are so many factor involved in finishing beef that it's
> hard to get consistency.
>
>
>
> Obviously what they eat is probably the most important factor, but then
> there's genetics,quality of pasture, the weather, the marbling potential,
> the age at slaughter, the optimum hanging time, even the temperatures in
> the cooler etc. etc. etc.
>
>
>
>
> Most of the relatively few animals I've slaughtered were in Yield Grade 1,
> and were very lean. I once read that the optimum hanging times was 23 days,
> but even at 21 days the meat was drier ,less tender.
>
>
> Most of the custom slaughter houses around shoot for 14 days. Seldom
> longer since they need the space.
>
>
> Like to hear more about the group's experiences finishing grass fed beef.
>
>
> You also mentioned finishing/pasturing on alfalfa: that packs a lot more
> protein in the feed. I wonder if that too makes a big difference.
>
>
> I don't pamper my grass fed beef . I do provide a mineral program, some
> soybean hulls, and corn gluten meal in winter, and they have plenty of
> shade and water, and I'm with then a lot so they are quite gentle.
>
>
> I selected for high marbling EPD's in my herd foundation among others.
>
>
> Look forward to your replies.  Frank in KY -----Original Message-----
> From: homestead-request <homestead-request AT lists.ibiblio.org>
> To: homestead <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
> Sent: Sun, Jan 6, 2013 12:01 pm
> Subject: Homestead Digest, Vol 93, Issue 7
>
>
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> Today's Topics:
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>    1. Re: Homestead Digest, Vol 93, Issue 5 (William Russell)
>    2. Re: Homestead Digest, Vol 93, Issue 5 (lurine AT com-pair.net)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sat, 5 Jan 2013 21:22:47 -0500
> From: William Russell <woodmanrussell AT gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Homestead] Homestead Digest, Vol 93, Issue 5
> To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
> Message-ID:
>         <
> CAKZtsm_Rzh9Zb1-3FPrUA2b_8O3gct7fZMSN1+GuZZjJeHYUyA AT mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> Grass or Corn makes no difference, the animal has to start
> depositing intramuscular fat in order for it to become more tender& higher
> grade. I have told my beef customers, since the 80's that a young beef is
> like a teenager, they build body first then start to put on the fat that
> the meat inspector/grader looks for.After raising at least 5 different
> breeds & finishing some on grain & some on grass, they can all be tender if
> finished properly . My last breed has been the Scot Hilander breed & they
> have been the best. They were raised totally on 10 year old Alfalfa fields,
> intensive rotational grazed, which I believe  is the only way to raise
> cattle that will preform at their best. Those cattle finished out at 1000#
> live weight & about 1/2'" of back fat. Also I have my meat hung for 12 days
> in the cooler at the slaughter house before finishing, which has been shown
> to be the optimum time for enzyme breakdown of tissue. My customers & my
> wife have raved about how good this meat is & that it really turns out
> (fork tender)!!
>
>
> On Fri, Jan 4, 2013 at 1:53 PM, <lurine AT com-pair.net> wrote:
>
> > Depends on your grass.  Back in the day, when we had our butcher
> > shop, our steers grade choice straight off grass.  We seeded orchard
> > grass, perrenial rye, wild oat, bur clover and another grass I don't
> > remember.  Now, they were dairy calves but the guy used Hereford
> > bulls.  We also ran some Holstein cows and had our own horned
> > Hereford bull (Sir Redwood Reginald III, where do people get these
> > names <g>).
> >
> > We sold almost all the steers out of our butcher shop (cut out the
> > middle man) but would occasionally sell one privately.  I always
> > required 50% upfront with no refunds, so the non-serious or inclined
> > to change their minds folks didn't even bother.
> >
> > Lynda
> >
> > ---- Original Message ----
> > From: franksfarm AT aol.com
> >
> > >Re Grass Fed Beef
> > >
> > >Hi Rob:)
> > >
> > >That's one of the real dangers: Customers canceling at last minute!
> > >Happened to me ,too, and I had little room in my freezer. Several
> > >hundred lbs of beef take up a lot of space.
> > >
> > >Folks don't realize just how long, and how much you have in that
> > >beef.
> > >
> > >You need to educate your customers, and get FIRM, non cancelable
> > >orders.
> > >
> > >Even at $3.25 margins are not that great. With bottle calves you do
> > >have much lower costs than most grass fed beef producers.
> > >
> > >Also from my experience grass fed beef needs to be cooked more
> > >slowly, and with moisture -else it seems a bit tougher. My Angus
> > >cattle tend to be in Yield Grade # 1 because they are so lean. So
> > >it's healthier for you.
> > >
> > >I'm hoping to sell directly to a larger outfit at a premium price
> > >since it's hard to scale up in a rural area. Selling a handful of
> > >animals a year is not much of a business. Frank in KY -----Original
> >
> >
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>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Sat, 5 Jan 2013 22:40:28 -0800
> From: lurine AT com-pair.net
> Subject: Re: [Homestead] Homestead Digest, Vol 93, Issue 5
> To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
> Message-ID: <380-2201310664028920 AT com-pair.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
>
> Breeds make a difference and the pasture will also make a difference.
> If you have breed, such as dairy, you are going to have less marbling
> simply because that is the way those animals muscle up.  You could
> stick a buck or a doe in a shed and feed them corn till the cows come
> home and you wouldn't get enough marbling to grade anything but
> utility.
>
> Scottish Highlanders are extremely "thrifty" and will pack on a good
> ratio of marbling and back fat on a lot less feed than say a
> Holstein.  Highlanders pack on the fat and marbeling equally
> throughout their bodies.  Holsteins will put it on piecemeal.  So, on
> less feed you'll get a better grade out of a Highlander.
>
> Dry aging is optimum.  This new business of "wet" aging (sticking it
> in kryovac bags and sitting it on a shelf) is, well, IMNSHO,
> disgusting!  The amount of time you age your beef for depends on a
> lot of things including just how much fat there is on the quarters.
> A hind can hang longer than a front.
>
> For our butcher shop we would hang the sides we sold in the shop
> about two weeks.  Then we would break the hind down and for some
> customers leave the loin to hang another week.
>
> We had a lot of dairies bring in older cows.  These old girls hung
> about a week to 10 days.  Very little cover fat but because they came
> from old-fashioned dairies (irrigated pasture, little stress) they
> produced some real nice meat.
>
> Feed, breed, how they are raised all have input in what the output is.
>
> Lynda
>
> ---- Original Message ----
> From: woodmanrussell AT gmail.com
>
> >Grass or Corn makes no difference, the animal has to start
> >depositing intramuscular fat in order for it to become more tender&
> >higher
> >grade. I have told my beef customers, since the 80's that a young
> >beef is
> >like a teenager, they build body first then start to put on the fat
> >that
> >the meat inspector/grader looks for.After raising at least 5
> >different
> >breeds & finishing some on grain & some on grass, they can all be
> >tender if
> >finished properly . My last breed has been the Scot Hilander breed &
> >they
> >have been the best. They were raised totally on 10 year old Alfalfa
> >fields,
> >intensive rotational grazed, which I believe  is the only way to
> >raise
> >cattle that will preform at their best. Those cattle finished out at
> >1000#
> >live weight & about 1/2'" of back fat. Also I have my meat hung for
> >12 days
> >in the cooler at the slaughter house before finishing, which has been
> >shown
> >to be the optimum time for enzyme breakdown of tissue. My customers &
> >my
> >wife have raved about how good this meat is & that it really turns
> >out
> >(fork tender)!!
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
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> End of Homestead Digest, Vol 93, Issue 7
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>
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